GOVERNANCE OF THE INSTITUTE
2.1 General Provisions Regarding the Governance of the Institute.
The Institute has a Board of Trustees and a Board of Directors.
2.2 Board of Trustees.
The Institute enjoys the patronage of a group of prominent individuals who have distinguished themselves as philanthropists, professionals, business leaders, academics, media experts, and artists who are deeply interested in the Institution and committed to raising public consciousness about the Project. These individuals are invited by the Board of Directors to serve as Trustees of the Institute. The Board of Trustees is imbued with the responsibility to ensure and enhance the financial health and resources of the Institute through the financial contributions of its members and/or other fundraising vehicles and endeavors. The Board of Trustees will be kept apprised of the activities of the Institute on a regular basis and will in turn provide guidance to the Board at its semiannual meetings.
(A) Qualifications. To qualify for selection as a Trustee of the Institute by the Board of Directors, the individual must:
(i) be an upstanding member of the community;
(ii) support the mission, promote the interests of the Institute, and help raise public consciousness about the Project; and
(iii) contribute funds to the Institute and/or help the Institute to raise funds by encouraging other individuals and institutions to support it financially.”
(B) Numbers. There are no limits to the number of Trustees invited to serve on the Board of Trustees of the Institute.
(C) Acceptance. The Board of Directors shall accept as a Trustee any person who:
(i) meets the qualifications set out in Section 2.2 (A); and
(ii) is nominated by any of the members of the Board of Trustees or Board of Directors of the Institute and receives the vote of the majority of both Board of Trustees and Board of Directors then in office.
(D) Term. Each Trustee shall serve a two-year term and until his or her successor has been duly chosen and qualified, or until his or her earlier death, incapacity, resignation, or removal. There are no limits as to the number of terms a Trustee can serve so long as the Trustee meets the qualifications set forth in Section 2.2 (A) unless a Trustee is earlier removed in accordance with Section 2.2 (G) or resigns in accordance with Section 2.2 (H).
(E) Good Standing.
(i) Good standing is defined as individual Trustee’s ability to meet the qualifications listed in Section 2.2 (A). Such standing will be evaluated regularly by the Board of Trustees and Board of Directors.
(ii) Only the Board of Directors, by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Directors then in office, may determine that a Trustee is not in compliance with Section 2.2 (A).
(F) Rights. Each Trustee in good standing has the right:
(i) to vote in the election of the Board of Directors of the Institute;
(ii) to participate in the annual meeting of the Trustees where the Trustees are briefed on the progress of the Institute; and
(iii) to be recognized in all publications, websites, brochures and all other documents of the Institute as the Trustees of the Institute with all the stature that such designation entails.
(G) Removal. Any Trustee may be removed as a Trustee of the Institute for cause or after a determination that continued association of such Trustee would be detrimental to the best interests of the Institute upon the affirmative vote of two-third of the Directors then in office and the affirmative vote of two-thirds of all the Trustees then in good standing.
(H) Resignation. Any Trustee may resign as a member of the Institute at any time by giving written notice to the Institute.
(I) Meeting of the Board of Trustees.
(i) Annual Meeting. A meeting of the Trustees shall be held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Board of Directors for the transaction of such business as may properly come before the Trustees and, in alternate years, for the election of the Board of Directors.
(ii) Special Meetings. Special meeting of Trustees may be called at any time by the Board of Directors or the Editor-in-Chief. Special meetings of the Trustees may also be convened by Trustees entitled to cast one-third of the total number of votes entitled to be cast at such meetings; these Trustees may, in writing addressed to the Executive Director of the Institute, demand the call of a special meeting specifying the date thereof.
(iii) The Executive Director of the Institute upon receiving the written demand described in either Section 2.2 (I) (i) or Section 2.2 (I) (ii) shall promptly give notice of such meeting, or if the Executive Director fails to do so within ten days thereafter, any Trustee signing such demand may give such notice.
(J) Time and Place of Meetings. Meetings of the Trustees may be held on such date and time and at such place as is stated in the notice of the meeting.
(K) Notice of Meetings.
(i) Written notice of each meeting of the Trustees must be given to the Trustees in good standing stating the date, time and place of the meeting and in the case of a special meeting, the purposes for which the meeting is called.
(ii) The written notice of any meeting must be given not less than 30 days nor more than 60 days before the meeting.
(iii) Notice must be either delivered personally to each Trustee or mailed (including sending of a facsimile or electronic message) to his or her address as it appears in the records of the Institute. If such notice is given (a) by mail, it is deemed delivered when deposited in the U.S. mail properly addressed and with postage prepaid thereon; (b) by telephone facsimile transmission, it is deemed delivered upon the transmitter’s receipt of confirmation of such transmission; (c) by electronic mail message, it is deemed delivered when sent. An affidavit of the Executive Director that the notice has been property given is, in the absence of fraud, prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein.
(iv) When a meeting is adjourned to another time or place, notice need not be given of the adjourned meeting if the time and place thereof are announced at the meeting at which the adjournment is taken. At the adjourned meeting the Trustees may transact any business, which might have been transacted at the original meeting. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the adjournment is for more than 30 days, a notice of the adjourned meeting must be given to each Trustee in good standing.
(v) Whenever notice is required to be given by law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these By-Laws, a written waiver of such notice, signed by the Trustee entitled to such notice, whether before or after the time stated therein shall be deemed equivalent to notice.
(vi) The attendance of a Trustee at the meeting constitutes a waiver of notice of such meeting, except when the person attends a meeting for the express purpose of objecting at the beginning of the meeting to the transaction of any business because the meeting was not lawfully called or convened.
(vii) Neither the business to be transacted at, nor the purpose of any annual or special meeting of the Trustees need be specified in any written waiver of notice.
(M) Quorum.
(i) One-fifth of the Trustees present in person at a meeting constitutes a quorum of the Trustees. Withdrawal of a Trustee from a meeting shall not cause the failure of a duly constituted quorum.
(ii) Any Trustee may participate in a meeting by means of telephone conference or by any means of communication by which all persons participating in the meeting are able simultaneously to hear one another. Such participation constitutes presence in person at the meeting.
(iii) The Trustee may not act by proxy.
(N) Vote. Except as otherwise provided by these By-Laws, the affirmative vote of a majority of the Trustees present in person at a meeting at which there is a quorum is the act of the Trustees.
(O) Action Without Meeting.
(i) Any action required or permitted to be taken by the Board of Trustees at any annual or special meeting may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice, and without a vote, if a consent or consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken, is signed and delivered to the Institute (including by electronic transmission) by the Trustees having not less than the two- thirds of the votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all Trustees having a right to vote thereon were present and voted.
(ii) Every written consent must bear the date of signature of each Trustee who signs the consent, and no consent is effective to take the corporate action referred to therein unless, within 60 days of the earliest dated consent
delivered to the Institute, written consents signed by a sufficient numbers of Trustees to take action are delivered to the Institute (including by electronic transmission). Prompt written notice of the taking of the action without a meeting by less than unanimous written consent must be given to those Trustees who have not consented in writing.
2.3 Board of Directors.
The governing body of the Institute shall be its Board of Directors. The Board of Directors shall manage, control and direct the affairs and property of the Institute. The Board of Directors shall have, and may exercise, any and all powers provided in the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law of the Bavaria or the Certificate of Incorporation that are necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes of the Institute. The fiduciary responsibility for the affairs of the Institute resides with the Board of Directors, as distinguished from the Board of Trustees. The Board of Directors, as the ultimate responsible body for the Institute, in consultation with the Board of Trustees, shall be the custodian of the Institute’s assets, including its intellectual property.
(A) Qualifications. To qualify for acceptance as a Director of the Institute, a nominee must:
(i) be an upstanding member of the community, as determined by the Board of Directors; and
(ii) support the mission and promote the interests of the Institute.
(B) Numbers. The authorized number of Directors shall be not less than eleven (11) and not more than twenty-one (21).
(C) Term.
(i) Each Director shall serve a three-year term and until his or her successor has been duly chosen and qualified, or until his or her earlier death, incapacity, resignation, or removal.
(ii) One-half of the Board of Directors shall be elected every two years.
(iii) There are no limits as to the number of terms a Director can serve so long as the Director meets the qualifications set forth in Section 2.3 (A) unless a Director is earlier removed in accordance with Section 2.3 (I) or resigns in accordance with Section 2.3 (J).
(D) Composition of the Board.
(i) The Board of Directors shall be composed of a Chair, Vice Chair, President, Editor-in-Chief, Executive Director, a Treasurer, Counsel, and
members from academia as well as diverse fields, such as business, law, finance, communication and media, arts and information technology.
(ii) The President, Editor-in-Chief, Executive Director, Treasurer and Counsel to the Institute shall serve as an ex-officio member of the Board of Directors.
(E) Nomination.
(i) Prior to each biennial election of Directors, the Nominating Committee of the Board of Directors shall nominate a slate of qualified candidates for consideration by the Board of Trustees as well as the Board of Directors.
(ii) The Board of Directors, by majority vote, must approve each individual candidate prior to the slate’s submission to the vote of the Board of Trustees and Board of Directors.
(iii) The candidate can include members of the Board of Trustees. (F) Election.
(iv) Every other year at the annual meetings of the Board of Trustees and the Board of Directors, a majority of the members of the Trustees and Directors shall elect Directors of the Institute from among the candidates named by the Nominating Committee.
(v) Each Trustee and Director shall cast a number of ballots equal to the number of authorized Directors standing for election less the number of ex-officio Directors.
(G) P ersonal Nature of Directors ’ Duties . Because Directors’ duties are personal, no Director of the Institute may:
(i) sell, assign, or otherwise transfer his or her Directorship; or
(ii) act by proxy at any meeting of the Board of Directors.
(H) Vacancies. Any vacancy on the Board of Directors, including a vacancy caused by a Director’s resignation or removal, or otherwise, shall be filled for the remainder of the term by the Board of Directors at its next meeting.
(I) Removal. The Board of Directors may remove a Director, with or without cause, by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Directors then in office.
(J) Resignation. A Director may resign at any time by giving notice thereof in writing to the Board of Directors, the Editor-in-Chief, or the Executive Director.
(K) Compensation. Directors will not receive any compensation, discounts or commissions for services they render to the Institute.
(L) Meeting of the Board of Directors.
(i) Annual Meeting. The Board of Directors must hold semiannual meetings, including one regular joint meeting with the Board of Trustees.
(ii) Special Meetings. Special meeting of the Board of Directors may be called at any time by a majority of Directors, the Editor-in-Chief, or the Executive Director acting on behalf of the Board of Directors.
(iii) Agenda. The agenda for any meeting will be set by the Chair of the
Board of Directors in consultation with the Executive Committee.
(M) Time and Place of Meetings. The Chair shall designate the date, time and place of all meetings of the Board of Directors.
(N) Notice of Meetings.
(i) At least thirty-days’ written notice must be given to each Director of each regular meeting of the Board of Directors, unless the Board of Directors by resolution adopts a regular schedule for such meetings in which case no additional notice is required.
(ii) Notice of a meeting of the Board of Directors must specify the date, time, and place of the meeting, as well as the purpose for the meeting or the business to be conducted and publish for the Directors an agenda no less than thirty-days in advance of such a meeting.
(iii) A special meeting of the Board of Directors may be held upon ten-days’ written notice. The requirement of notice, as set forth in Section 2.3 (N) (ii), shall not apply to special meetings.
(iv) Notice must be either delivered personally to each Director or mailed (including sending of a facsimile or electronic message) to his or her address as it appears in the records of the Institute. If such notice is given (a) by mail, it is deemed delivered when deposited in the German mail properly addressed and with postage prepaid thereon; (b) by telephone facsimile transmission, it is deemed delivered upon the transmitter’s receipt of confirmation of such transmission; (c) by electronic mail message, it is deemed delivered when sent. An affidavit of the Executive Director that the notice has been property given is, in the absence of fraud, prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein.
(v) Notwithstanding the foregoing, a Director may waive notice of any meeting of the Board of Directors by (a) written statement given to the Board of Directors, the Editor-in-Chief, or the Executive Director; (b) oral statement at any such meeting; or (c) attendance at a meeting of the Board of Directors, except when a Director states at the beginning of a meeting that he or she is attending for the purpose of objecting to the conduct of business on the ground that the meeting was not lawfully called or convened.
(O) Quorum.
(i) A majority of the number of Directors then in office constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting of the Board of Directors, except that if a quorum is not present at a meeting, a majority of the Directors present may adjourn the meeting to another time that quorum can be established without further requirement of official notice. Withdrawal of any Director from a meeting of the Board of Directors shall not cause the failure of a duly constituted quorum.
(ii) Any Director may participate in a meeting by means of telephone conference or by any means of communication by which all persons participating in the meeting are able simultaneously to hear one another. Such participation constitutes presence in person at the meeting.
(P) Vote. Except as otherwise provided by law or these By-Laws, all matters presented to the Board of Directors for action must be decided by the affirmative vote of a majority of the Directors present at a meeting at which there is a quorum.
(Q) Action Without Meeting.
(i) Any action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the Board of Directors may be taken without a meeting if the text of the resolution or matter to be considered is sent to all the Directors in office and all Directors in office consent to such action in writing (including electronic transmission).
(ii) Such consent in writing (including by electronic transmission) has the same force and effect as a vote of the Board of Directors at a meeting and may be described as such in any document executed by the Institute.